The present invention relates, in general, to object locator apparatus and methods and, also, to wireless vehicle key fobs for remotely activating vehicle control functions.
The difficulty of finding a vehicle in a large parking lot, at shopping centers, sporting or music events, multi-level parking structures, etc., is a common problem experienced by all drivers on a regular basis. Long range key fobs have historically been used to activate a vehicle horn and exterior lights which can alert a driver to the vehicle location via audible and/or visual cues. This approach works well if the driver is within hearing or visual range of the vehicle and there are no obstructions or structures which would interfere with hearing or seeing the vehicle. This method does, however, create a nuisance in the form of noise pollution and possible embarrassment to the driver since many people could also hear the horn.
It has been proposed to incorporate a GPS receiver and a high accuracy compass into a key fob to facilitate determining the location of a parked vehicle with respect to the key fob location. This approach, however, has a significant cost and size/weight increase to the key fob for the GPS and compass components.